Vegetarians and Veggie Gardeners

Posted by Amy Urquhart Aug 2, 2008

Do vegetable gardening and vegetarianism go hand in hand? I think so. My husband and I have recently decided to give vegetarianism a whole-hearted try. While I’ve considered limiting my diet to meatless food in the past, it seems much easier to do so when there is so much fresh food readily available to eat.

In the past week, we have harvested cucumbers, ruby red chard, onions, garlic, peppers, lettuce and more zucchinis than I can count from our back yard vegetable garden and our community plot. I have no doubt that I wouldn't have purchased all of these vegetables from a grocery store had I not been a gardener.

Being an organic vegetable gardener means that I am in tune to the seasons, to what foods are in season, and I'm more connected to the vegetables that I grow and eat. I get more pleasure from eating the vegetables that I grow myself than those I purchase.

As a vegetable gardener, I naturally read more publications related to growing food, and that includes learning about the production of meat, whether organic or not. True, there are many options available for those of us who want to encourage a more sustainable lifestyle, but for the majority of us, these options are too expensive to practice regularly. For some, the answer is to simply stop eating meat.

It has been over two weeks since I’ve had any meat to eat, and I can’t say that I miss it so far. Perhaps practicing vegetarianism will be more difficult in the winter, when I’m unable to grow my own vegetables. Becoming a vegetarian means I’ll need to find creative ways to extend my growing season!